Composite materials are frequently used in the most diverse areas and consist mainly of plastic with embedded fiber reinforcement which are amongst other things also known in the form of tapes, fabrics, felts and mats. For example, coachwork parts of polyester resins reinforced with glass fibers and plastics, such as epoxy resins reinforced with carbon fibers, are frequently used in motor car construction. Numerous further components, such as consoles and cladding, are likewise also manufactured from such composite materials. When using carbon fibers as a reinforcement, fabrics of carbon fibers are frequently used because one can then obtain a reinforcement in all directions of the component.
The field of composite materials is, however, in no way restricted to glass fibers and carbon fibers there are many other reinforcement fibers which can be considered. Furthermore, the most diverse plastics can also be used as a matrix material. All such materials are described here generically as composite materials and fiber reinforced plastics. They can also be described by the generic term “organic sheet metals”. This term is understood in some circles as a specialist term.
Composite materials are composed of an arbitrary reinforcement material or fibers and an arbitrary, plastically deformable or meltable matrix material. The term “composite material” is used here in accordance with the invention and for this reason not only comprises plastics with fiber reinforcement, but, for example, also comprises matrix materials of metal, e.g. aluminum with a reinforcement material, such as e.g. carbon fiber or ceramic particles.